Working Woman
by gypsysfeather
Summary: Regina Mills lives in an old, run-down shack with her mother and baby sister. Her mother tells her she has gotten a job for her, but what Regina doesn't know is what kind of job this truly is. She's told that she has one more night in this shack. Even though the shack had been nothing but bad for her, she's not sure she's ready to be a Working Woman. [AU-Rated M sexual references]
1. Chapter 1

"Regina Mills?" The cabbie says, looking back into where I had just slid in.

I just give him a simple, curt nod. I don't answer, but instead hug my coat tighter to my body as I look out the window, viewing the airport.

"I just can't believe Regina Mills is in my cab." He continues, but he wasn't really in my thoughts. "The same Regina Mills who just won the 2016 award..." My fingers ran through the faux fur on my coat, mindlessly looking out of the window as the airport starts to leave my view, heading into what were once beautiful, green rolling hills. Now they just seem dull and dingy, but maybe that's just me – just my feelings for this place.

The cabbie just kept going on, talking about how he and his wife are big fans of me and my work, my last movie that I did and how spectacular. I didn't care, I didn't listen. I just wanted this to be over with already.

Miles upon miles, it felt, we finally arrive at where I'd told him. "Alright, now, which place is it? Are you sure this is the right road, Mrs-"

"I'm positive." I say, my voice cold and dry. "It's the third building on the right."

"That shack? Why in the world would you want to go th-"

"I'm a thirty-six year old woman, I can handle myself. Just take me there." I accidentally snap. I didn't mean to do that, but visiting this place caused enough stress on me, I didn't need him adding any to it.

When we pull up beside it in silence, he clears his throat. "I'll just wait out here."

"That won't be necessary." I say, tightening my coat on me again before opening the door. Even though I told him that, he still didn't leave. Even after I slammed the door, he still didn't leave. _Obsessed fan._ I ignored it and stared straight ahead of me, looking at the crumbling old shack. It doesn't look much worse than it did the last time I saw it – eighteen years ago. It may be physically vacant now, but were there people ever really living there anyway?

*.*.*.*

.*.*.*.*.

 _August, 1998_

"Regina," The voice sent a chill down my spine.

"Yes mother?" I asked, my voice small as I swept the kitchen floor. I wasn't sure of the point anymore, mother didn't know the difference whether I cleaned it or not. I guess it was really all just for Zelena – she's so young, I didn't want her catching a sickness.

I hear something tumble, and hope to God it wasn't mother. Or Zelena, for that matter. But thankfully, I hear her scrape a picture frame up. She'd already thrown it against the wall and ripped Daddy's picture out, it was just the wooden pieces now. "I need you to go to the grocery store today." She said, stumbling into the kitchen where I was leaning against the broom now.

"I went yesterday, mother." I lied. I had to lie. She didn't seem to comprehend anymore we had no money. "We didn't have enough money for anything though, we'll have to save our checks to buy some food for-"

I ducked suddenly, trying to miss the frame she had just thrown at me. "Complaints! More complaints, Regina!" She snapped. "You need to get out! You need a job!"

"Mother, I just turned eighteen...I'm trying to find-"

"Not good enough." Cora said, getting in my face. I felt the urge to push her, but I wasn't strong enough. Besides, she still had enough milk for Zelena...I couldn't take that away from my baby sister.

I backed away one step, a soft, small one. "Mother, I-"

"Regina, I'm sick." She said before I could say anything else. "Zelena's going to starve to death if you don't go get yourself a job. And I'm setting you up with one. I know someone, he's coming tomorrow to pick you up. I gave you all the chances I could, Regina, but now it's come down to this." She said, looking in at Zelena in her makeshift crib. "She's going to starve, and you're her only chance now." She said, walking back into the living room and straight to her bedroom.

I can't say I blamed Daddy for running off with another woman. He deserved better than Mother, I just wish he would've taken me and Zelena with him. "Momma, what job-"

"Here." She stopped me again, turning and shoving a velvet, red dress in my face. "I used the last bit of my money to buy this for you. You keep this in good condition, Regina, and I promise it'll bring you a lot of money." She said, "Try it on."

"But Momma, I-"

"I said put it on, Regina." She sneers, looking me in the eye.

I knew she meant business. She always did, anyway, but sometimes I could talk some sense into her. Today wasn't a day I was going to be able to do that. "Okay." I finally surrendered, walking to the corner of the tiny room with the dress in my hand. I hung it on the edge of her rickety door, slipping out of my shoes easily. They were a size too big, someone had given them to me when they saw me walk a third hole into my last pair. After my shoes, off came my dress over my head. I felt my mother's eyes staring into the back of me, and it stung.

The red dress fit perfectly, showing off every curve I didn't even know I really had. I turn around, running my hands down the softest material I'd ever felt before looking at my mother. "What is this for?" I finally asked. She always had an ulterior motive.

"Your late birthday present." She said, but I almost winced from how bad that lie was. She was getting bad, how had I not even noticed she was actually sick? I just thought she'd been finishing off the last of Daddy's liquor. The look on my face must've told her I didn't believe that, though, because she cleared her throat. "It's for your new job. Like I said, keep it nice and it'll make you a lot of money." She said.

I looked down at it, furrowing my brows. "But-"

"Go to bed, Regina." She said, "This is your last night here."

With that, I took one look in the mirror. My new dress really did show off curves I'd never noticed before, and I didn't look like such a kid anymore. _What was so important about this job?_

"Goodnight, Mother." I whispered, leaving myself in the looking glass and walking out, the heels clicking on my shoes Mother had given me – an old pair of hers from when she was younger and went dancing.

That's where she met Daddy, but he never knew about her temper and alcoholism. Daddy nor I knew, really, until I was thirteen and things went downhill from there. I feel that I was a part of the reason Daddy left, but I promised Mother I'd always be good. I'd never try to run away again.

Now, she was pushing me out. She was making me leave to go get a job. Some man will be picking me up in the morning, and I got a new dress.

I wasn't sure if I was to be excited I was finally leaving this place, or sad to leave Zelena behind with Mother.

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*

Standing and facing the mirror, the sun shone through and onto my face. It burned my eyes, but I couldn't look away. I didn't look myself.

My head finally moves when I see mother behind me, coming in soberly (for once). She had a hair brush in her hand, along with her old, ratty makeup bag. I hadn't seen her with it since way before Daddy left. "I've come to do your makeup." She said, a gentler voice than last night. It sounded as though she had been crying most of the night.

I hadn't slept all night, and my face definitely looked tired. "Oh." I said. She gestured for me to sit down, and I did as she wanted me to like always by pulling up a stool to the mirror and sitting on it.

She tugged and pulled on my hair, getting the messy knots out of it. "You should cut it." She said.

I winced. "No...I don't want to cut my hair. Please." I begged. My hair had always been long, even though she'd always tried to get me to cut it short. It was the one thing she'd never _made_ me do.

She gave the subject up quickly, and we fell into a silence again. She brushed my hair and put it up in a loose up-do, turning me on the stool so that I was facing her. She starts painting my face – putting makeup on it. I'd never worn makeup before.

"There." She said, pursing her lips when she looked at me. I never felt good enough for her. "That's as good as we're getting, isn't it?" She asked, turning me back around away from her and into the mirror so I could see myself. I never looked so _unlike_ me in my life. I stood, viewing my curves again in the red dress, seeing my hair fall over my shoulder and onto my breast.

"What is all of this for, Mother?" I asked.

"For your new job." She said.

I stayed silent. I didn't know what job she had gotten me in to, but it didn't sound good. "Mother, I-"

"Regina, I'm doing this _for_ you. Don't you see? I'm not giving you away just because I'm tired of you. You need to make well for yourself." She said, then glanced out of the window. "The car is here. Gather your bag up, I'll let him in." She said, walking out of the door after pressing an awkward kiss to my head.

Again, I stared in the mirror and shook my head. Tears filled my eyes. How did she think giving me away would be good for me?

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*

He slammed the door hard, letting my dress get caught in it. I'd never been in an actual car before, only the school bus before I dropped out.

I still had a wet face from letting a few tears fall while saying goodbye. I had to say goodbye to the only place that had a piece of my father lingering, the place that housed me for these eighteen years – even if it was rickety and old and infested with bugs. Goodbye to Zelena, who I didn't know what would happen with. Even goodbye to my horrible, wretched mother was hard. She still was the one who did my makeup and my hair this morning, whether she ever paid any attention to me before all of this or not – she was my mother.

The man gets in the car, turning it on with a loud rumble. I still had no idea of his name. He looked back at me, eying my body from head to toe, and back up again. "We'll need to get you new clothes before I let you out on the street." He said. Nothing else was said.

My mind was racing.

 _Street?_ Mother said this was a job. I didn't know I'd have to live on the street. But I didn't argue. She told me to just be nice to everyone, and they'll be nice to me. I figured the best thing I could do was to be quiet. I didn't want to say anything to upset him. After all, he _was_ buying me new clothes.

At the end of what seemed to be a car ride that lasted forever, I felt sick and woozy. I wasn't sure if it was from nerves or from the hills we had to go through. Either way, I felt liked I was going to throw up on the man when he opened the door for me.

"Now, go in, pick you out some outfits, and pay for them with this." He said, handing me a piece of plastic. I'd never seen anything like this before.

"What is it?" I asked.

He gave me a funny look, like I was stupid or something. "It's a credit card." He said, scoffing. "You really aren't good for anything, are you?" He said and patted me on my rear. It startled me. No one had ever done that before, except Mother when I'd done something wrong. "Now get in there and buy you some damn outfits! Don't talk to _anyone_." He said, raising his voice.

After the shock of him touching me like that, it made me feel even more jumpy than I had been. I jumped and ran inside the storefront. Once I was in, I caught my breath and looked around at all of the pretty clothes, so many things to choose from. I tucked the plastic thing inside the top of my dress, looking around warily.

"May I help you?" A perky woman asked, and I jumped again. I shook my head _no_ , and she left. I wasn't supposed to talk to _anyone_ , and I wasn't about to get in trouble with my new boss.

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*

After choosing a few new dresses, some shirts, some shoes, and some pants, I came out. I had no idea how to use the plastic thing, and the woman at the front had to help me. I felt utterly stupid and dumb.

The man was waiting for me in the car, but this time he didn't get out to open the door. He stayed inside and unlocked it from there, making me open the door with armfuls of shopping bags.

I struggled to get in, but finally made it. Before I was hardly inside and shut the door, he took off again. We drove for what felt like forever again, but maybe it was just because I was queasy already. When we came to another stop, it was in the middle of an alley way.

He got out this time again. Girls suddenly came out of the dingy apartment buildings everywhere, hanging all over him. Girls my age, some older. Some even looked younger than me. _What is this place?_ I asked myself. I didn't understand.

He opened the door for me after pushing those other girls away, pulling me by my shoulder and yanking me out. He pushed me against the car with his full body weight, startling me again. It more than startled me, it _scared_ me. "Change right now." He sneered. "And after, come to the first apartment on the third floor and knock five times. If you don't, I'll kill you." He said.

He finally backed off of me, backing away a little. My mouth hung open, my body didn't want to move. All of those girls were staring at me, waiting for me to do something. _Were they waiting for me to change, just like he was?_

I finally willed my arm to reach back into the backseat of the car, my hand shaking so badly I couldn't hardly pull the dress out of the paper bag. I laid it down right behind me, easy to reach. I looked back in front of me again, seeing all of the eyes still on me. There were probably at least fifteen other women – or girls – watching me. Five of fifteen were hanging all over this excuse of a man in front of me. "Well!" He yelled.

I startled again, quickly reaching down and ripping the dress off over my head. It was so cold suddenly, even though it was the middle of August. I felt so exposed and horrible. I just as quickly put the new dress on, and he slapped my face. "Next time you better do it quicker." He said before walking off to the stairs. Presumably to the third floor.

I stood there in horror, closing the car door. The other girls went on to whatever they were doing before, some of them started walking down the sidewalk. I was too scared to move, but when I heard the door shut a few floors above me, I knew where I needed to go. Otherwise, he'd kill me.

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*


	2. Chapter 2

**_WARNING:_** _There are moments of rape in this chapter. Please know this before reading. Thank you._

 **.*.*.*.**

 ***.*.*.*.***

 _Knock knock._ I paused, tears filling my eyes and a lump coming up into my throat. _Knock knock knock._ Five times. That's what he said to do, was knock five times on this door.

I waited for probably three minutes, but it felt even longer than that, before I heard footsteps coming toward me. The door opened a little enough for him to peek his face out, and he yanked me in. "Change into this." He said, tossing a piece of material at me.

I startled again, I was too stunned by the fact he had no shirt on. I'd never seen anyone without a shirt before. "O-okay." I whispered, heading to find a bathroom or something to change in.

He grabbed my wrist, "Change here." He said, staring me in the eye for a few moments before walking to the couch and pulling his pants down. I gulped. I'd never seen someone without a shirt, let alone someone without pants or... _anything_. I never felt more naive and incredibly scared in my life. I had no idea what he was about to do, but the two naked girls on the couch seemed to enjoy...whatever that was that was exposed when he took his pants off. I hadn't even noticed the women until they started to climb on his lap. He pushed them off, taking his hand and wrapping it around the thing sticking straight up. He gestured for me to undress, and I finally got my limbs to move and take everything off.

My eyes momentarily left his hand, doing... _whatever_ to that... _thing._ Those girls were just in awe of him, but I was terrified of him. _Why was I the only one scared?_

One of the girls suddenly comes down, putting that _thing_ in her mouth and sucking in. I could tell by the loud pop. I wasn't sure if he liked it or not, because the sound that came from his mouth was loud and almost made it seem like he was in pain. I shuddered, wondering if I would have to do whatever she was doing. He pulled her off by her hair, though, and soon ordered them to leave with his booming voice.

"But Leopold..." One whines, the one opposite of the one who just had her mouth around him.

He shot her a look, "Arianna, no." He said sternly. "Get out so Regina and I can have our privacy."

And just like that, they started moving to get dressed. Meanwhile, I was looking down at my scantily clad body, wrapped in white lace everywhere except where it mattered. My breasts stuck through two holes in the lace, and my private parts weren't covered at all, exposing a bushy appearance contrasting the white lace.

He gestured once they were gone for me to come closer, but my legs wouldn't hardly move. I was terrified, feeling disgustingly aware of my body.

When I walked over, he swooped me up and threw me over his shoulder like I was some kind of _toy,_ then stood up and walked into another room, slamming the door behind him.

He threw me down onto the bed, and I let out a whimper. "Hush, _girl_." He snapped, spitting a little on me purposely. My whole body trembled, but I nodded in compliance to him. I didn't want to upset him, he seemed to be angered easily, too.

He crawled onto the end of the bed, spreading my legs so far that it hurt the back and inside of them, my toes almost touching the bed beside my head. I bit my lip so hard that I tasted blood, but if I wouldn't have, I would've screamed. I was afraid he'd kill me for that, too.

Still naked, he pushed his hips to mine, and I swallowed that lump. I wanted to cry, but crying wouldn't help. _Just be nice to him, Regina._ I had to keep telling myself the only advice Mother had given me. "You're mine now." He hissed, grabbing that _thing_ and pushing it into me.

" _Ah!_ " I screamed out, I couldn't help it. Nothing he could've done would have prepared me for the pain I felt in that moment. I didn't understand what was going on. "Please! You're hurting me!" I cried.

His hips move, pushing into mine even further. "Shut up!" He yelled, slapping my face. It stung across my cheek so badly, and I felt so embarrassed on top of it all that it made it sting worse. "Don't talk to me like that!"

"Please, I-" I got that much out before he grabbed the pillow behind me and stuffed the pillow case into my mouth so hard I choked. Tears were pouring from my eyes, both from the pain and from not being able to breathe well. My toes curled from how badly this was hurting me.

"You're going to listen to me now. I'm not going to say it again." He hissed, still holding the pillow case in my mouth and pushing it back into my throat. I tried so hard to not choke. "You're going to walk the streets in the dresses _I'll_ be buying you. You're going to find men, sometimes even women, who want something in exchange for money. You're going to lay there for them _just like this_ ," He hissed, slamming into my hips even harder and picking up his pace. "And you're going to get paid for sex, and not tell anyone, unless you want to be killed. Got it?" He hissed, spitting on my face again.

I cried again, but nodded. I just wanted to go home.

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*

Dirty. That's all that I felt. I scrubbed my skin in the bath tub until it was burning and red, I scrubbed my hair where he had gotten... _whatever_ that was in my hair. I had cried so much in the past hour that he was finally through with me that my eyes were red too. Or maybe it was the lack of air earlier. Either way, I wanted to be home more than ever.

I felt disgusting, my skin stung but I still kept scrubbing. I only stopped when I heard a knock on my door. In high hopes, I was hoping it was Mother. Maybe she changed her mind, maybe she didn't want this life for me. I wouldn't hate her if she came back for me, I would forgive her for what had already been done.

I get out of the tub, feeling self conscious of my body again as I wrapped the towel around me. "Who is it?" I asked nervously.

"Melanie." I heard a voice that I'd never heard before. I was thankful it wasn't Leo, but wanted to cry again over the fact that it wasn't Mother.

"Coming." I strangled out, walking to the door. My apartment wasn't much nicer than the shack I just got out of at home. It didn't feel like home, though, so it was worse than just being in that horrible shack.

I opened the door cautiously, holding my towel up to my body nervously. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice sounding like someone else's.

"My name is Melanie. Call me Mel." She said, pushing her way into the door and closing it behind her.

I stood there in fear again, afraid that she would hurt me like Leo has. I realized that I was shaking again, but then wondered if I ever actually had stopped shaking from him hurting me.

"I'm not here to hurt you." She said, chewing what sounded like a piece of gum. "I'm here to help you out." She said, handing me a piece of paper that read:

 _Leopold is a bastard. We all hate him, but none of us can leave. Don't try, his threats aren't empty. And I'm not speaking any of this to you because he has microphones placed everywhere in these apartments, even in your shoes. Don't say anything bad about him unless you have a death wish._

It was so neatly written, I almost couldn't read it. I was an avid reader, or I tried to be, but with dropping out of school at such a young age, I never really could read cursive well. Melanie was a pro at it, it seemed.

I nod to her in a thank you, and she continued aloud. "So anyway, about that help." She said, moving her head to let me know she was staging it. "Your first night on the streets won't be tonight. Us girls have tonight covered, but you start walking tomorrow. Wear your skimpiest and-"

"What am I doing? On the streets, I mean, when I'm walking?" I asked, feeling naive and stupid again. "I-I don't understand why I was brought here or what happened, even when-"

She stood, grabbing me by the wrist. "Leo was just showing you what's to come. He had sex with you, I'm guessing, since your skin is beat red. You scrubbed just like the rest of us, but it won't ever do anything good, hun." She said, frowning when she felt how hot my skin was still from the bath. "Anyway-"

"So that was sex?" I asked. "I'd never-"

"We know you'd never had sex before. He bragged to us all that he took your virginity." She explained.

I frowned, confused about it all. Who would brag about such a painful thing? "I don't even know what that is."

"Sex?"

"Sex, virginity!" I cried out, getting frustrated, embarrassed, and scared all at the same time again. "I just-"

"Okay, calm down." She warns, gesturing toward the note she had written me, reminding me about the microphones I supposed. "Listen, all you need to do for the first few guys is lay there, spread your legs wide, and look pretty. Shut up, I might add. Don't talk back and when they ask you to speak, just say that's extra money. Which it is."

"Money?" I asked. "I'm getting paid to do what I did with Leo?"

"Well, you don't get paid to do it with Leo." She said, "But you get paid a portion of it when you do it with other people. After a little while, you can even have women clients." She explained, and my eyes widened in horror. I'd never heard of such a thing. But then again, Mother had always kept me couped up in that shack. "We make good money. We can buy ourselves nice things. We sleep with Leo – well, we _want_ to sleep with Leo and do a good job so that way he'll give us the best jobs, the ones that pay more. He shows a lot of favoritism."

"So I should _want_ to do what he just made me do?" I asked, my voice breaking as I tried to not cry.

She stepped forward and took my hand, "It's going to be alright." She said, rubbing my shoulder with her free hand. "We're all okay. Some of us have been out here since we were your age, some are even younger than you."

"Isn't that illegal?" I asked.

She nodded, "But you know nothing. Okay? We all look out for each other around here. You look out for us, we look out for you. It works out well that way, because we've never been caught." She said. "Now, come on, you have a lot to learn about sex."

She dragged me by my hand, toward my bedroom. I didn't know how she knew where she was going, but she seemed to know exactly where to take me. She laid me on the bed and took my towel off. I was just frozen, laying there still. _Was she going to hurt me too?_

She frowned when she looked at my face, I must've looked terrified. "I'm not here to hurt you." She repeated, pulling something from her pocket. It was a jar-like thing, and she opened the top and stuck her finger inside to get the gel stuff out. "This is going to help you heal a bit so you don't bleed tomorrow when you have your first client." She said, spreading my legs gently. It made the memories come back so vividly of what Leo did to me, and it made tears come out of my eyes again. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here to help." She assured again, but I simply nodded and wiped my tear. If anyone was here to help, they'd get me out of here. This wasn't real help.

It burned when she put the cool salve on my aching skin. I had just finished scrubbing all of the blood away. There was so much of it. She grabs another thing from her bag that was hanging around her shoulder and neck. I'd seen something like it in Mother's bathroom before, she used to shave her legs with it. I've never done that before.

She got down from my bed and went to the bathroom. I heard running water and she came back, digging something out of her bag again. This time it was a can, something she sprayed on my legs. "I'm only doing this just this one time. From now on, you'll need to learn to do this. And you're not going to get any men if you don't at least shave your legs." She instructed, and I nodded again. I felt like I couldn't do anything but nod.

She started using the razor and shaved the long hair from my legs. I felt embarrassed again. I knew it was something I should've learned to do, but Mother never taught me. She dug in her bag again, and it made me wonder how many times she had done this before. How many girls she's mothered like this after they had to have sex with Leo. She seemed so prepared.

She brought out a pair of scissors, and starts gently trimming the hair around where he hurt me. I didn't know what that was called, and without even thinking it blurted out, "What is that called?" I asked, immediately hating myself for asking.

She frowned, "These?" She asked, holding the scissors. I shook my head, sitting up and pointing to everything down there. She explained so slowly. I'd never met someone so patient in my life.

Once she had me trimmed, shaved, and salved, she sat up beside me at the head of my bed. "You'll need a good night's rest." She says softly, patting my thigh. She let me get dressed, too, which I was thankful for. "You'll be fine. Just be nice to them, and do what I said."

I looked at her, nodding sadly. "I'm scared." I admitted, and she wrapped me in a hug.

At that moment, I'd never felt safer. She was the only person I could trust in this world. I couldn't even trust Mother. I hugged her back, crying into her shoulder. Would I ever actually stop crying in my lifetime here? Would I ever get away from here?

Melanie rubbed my back, kissing my head. She was a touchy-feely person, I could tell. "I know you are. We all get scared here and there, but it does get better. The money helps too, once you start making it. You'll be okay." She said, pulling away again and giving me an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Now, get some sleep." She said, patting my leg and gathering her things, standing up and leaving without another word.

Again, I cried myself to sleep.

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*

The next morning, I got up and went outside to get some food with the little bit of money Melanie gave me last night. I couldn't have been more thankful for her, because I was absolutely starving. I ended up with a danish from a gas station right around the corner. I was too afraid to go anywhere else by myself. I'd never been in a big city like this, especially not alone.

When I got back to my apartment, I quickly scurried in and locked the door. Not sure what I thought I was protecting myself from, but I couldn't begin to think of Leo popping in right now. I needed recovery.

Thankfully, that's what I got. I had the whole day to myself, and mostly spent it cleaning the nasty apartment. I had no idea who lived here before, but I couldn't bare the fact that it was disgusting. It just made me feel even worse.

At about four thirty, I hear a knock on my door. "It's me." Melanie said, and I quickly go unlock the door to let her in. I was feeling only a little better, but still hurt and ached. Plus, I knew what was coming tonight. "Hey, Leo wants you. He said he's ready for you to go out." She explained.

I gulped, tears coming into my eyes again. "Okay." I whispered.

She hugged me again, making me feel safe. "Just remember what I told you, and you'll do fine."

I nodded, hugging onto her even tighter. I wished she could always be with me.

.*.*.*.

*.*.*.*.*

The heels hurt my feet, the dress was so short and kept riding up, and my thighs rubbed together so badly that they chapped. I just wanted Melanie back again. I was scared I wouldn't find anyone, and I wouldn't make any money, and Leo would throw me out. Then what would I do? I didn't know my way back home, plus my mother would probably just give me away again.

A car slows down before coming to a stop, rolling its window down. "Hey." A man says, and I looked in the window.

This was where it began. "Hi." I said innocently, mostly because Melanie didn't tell me what to do to actually get the man. She just told me what to do once I got him. "You looking for someone?" I asked nervously.

He nodded, "How much for the night, sexy?" He asked, pulling out his wallet and showing me a few hundred dollars. I told him the price that Leo set for me, pocketed the money into my new purse, and then got into his car.

On the way there, I happened to look over to one of the many giant billboards, seeing Leo's face.

In big, white letters it said, " _Re-elect Senator Blanchard!"_


	3. Chapter 3

_September, 1998_

" _Put this on. Meet me at 216 Orchard St. at 8:00 tonight._

 _-Leo"_

I picked up the bag that had that note attached, pulling the material out of it. I dropped the bag onto my bed and held the material up to my body to look in the mirror. It was a damn costume, one like I saw many of the neighborhood kids wear from time to time growing up. It had blue stockings with a red garter, a skimpy pair of red panties, and a blue corset with a yellow _S_ in the middle of the chest, complete with goggles and gloves, too. Even after a month of being there, he still made me sleep with him. I still never enjoyed it. I didn't understand how Melanie (now my best friend and only refuge) stood him, and stood to act like she actually liked to have sex with this wrinkly old man. It was disgusting.

I still knew only the basics. Lie there, look pretty, don't say anything, and wait until they finish. Then, you take a pill. I didn't know what the pill did, but Leo gave it to me and Melanie told me I should always take it. I wouldn't have trusted it if it weren't for her saying so.

I heard a knock on the door, and it was Melanie's special knock so I went ahead and opened it. "Hi." I said, my voice still soft and shy after all this time of knowing her.

She pushed in like always, sitting down on the bed. "She's pregnant, Regina. Pregnant." She said, holding her stomach. I got a glance at her face, and it seemed to be red and tear stained. I didn't know who she was talking about, nor was I sure if I wanted to ask or not.

"Who?" I mutter out, confused and dazed at how upset Melanie was over this.

She shook her head, "Ava. One of the girls here, Regina." She said and looked up. "She was one of my best friends until Leo sent her away for a long time, then she came back and he knocked her up. The baby is his..." She said sadly. "Ava knows because he's kept her as his personal slave..." She said, almost coming out as a whimper.

I sat down on the bed beside her, doing what she's done for me many times and holding her to me close. "Shhh..." I whispered, rubbing her arm and closing my eyes. "She'll be okay. Isn't that what you always tell me to remember? It'll all be okay. Just close your eyes and breathe, Mel." I whispered, swallowing thickly. What if this happens to me? After a few moments of silence, I cleared my throat. "Does Leo let the girls keep their babies?"

Mel shrugged and shook her head. "Not usually, no. He beats them – us – until we lose it." She said, and the way she said it with such pain made my heart break.

I may have been a naive, stupid, eighteen year old girl, but I knew a heartbreak when I saw one. "Were you…?" I asked sheepishly, afraid to set her off again.

She looked at me, tears filling her eyes again. "Yes, I was." She said. "And I saw first hand what happens when you forget to take the pill after. The baby – I don't even know who the father was." She said and swallowed hard. "But Leo made sure I'd never get to see my baby's face."

I held onto her even tighter, "Shhh." I whispered again, rocking her back and forth like I used to do for Zelena. "I'm here...it's okay." I said.

 _Was it really okay?_ I shook that thought from my head. I didn't know what I'd do if I ever became pregnant. I couldn't live with knowing Leo was going to beat it out of me. I was determined if that ever happened, I'd be a way better mother than mine ever was.

After moments of rocking her back and forth, Mel sat up and sniffled. "You want something to eat?" She asked quietly.

I shrugged. "That's fine. Leo summoned me to be there at 8:00 tonight, so I guess I better eat something." I said sadly, my stomach growling but I didn't feel hungry. I felt sick, and I just wanted to go home still. But this _was_ home, now.

 ***.*.*.***

 **.*.*.*.**

"Talk to me." He said, tugging my hair as he thrust into me from behind. He wasn't rough for once, he was soft and gentle. Was this his way of rewarding me for bringing him an expensive client last night? A gentle night?

I swallowed hard and cleared my throat, shutting my eyes. "Oh, Leo..." I said sensually, trying to do it the way Mel had taught me. "Please, please..." I didn't know what I was saying please for, but I knew he liked it. I could feel that he liked it, because I could feel his cock twitching inside me. That's always something that happened when he seemed to like it. Suddenly, he let go all of that white stuff in me. Sometimes it felt good, but I was still so disgusted by him that I couldn't begin to like it. He pulled out when he heard his phone ringing.

Grumbling, he hobbled over to it and answered, _Leo._ He then listened, and I quietly laid there, feeling that white, sticky stuff drip down me. I didn't want to move, I was afraid he'd be mad. I shut my eyes for two seconds, then suddenly heard something crashing. I looked over, moving to see what happened. He had thrown the phone across the room, but the cord tugged back on it and made it hit the vase of dying flowers. He was still grumbling all the way to the closet, getting dressed in a black suit and tie to match it. "You're done." He said, and I sat up quickly to begin getting dressed.

When he was done with me, he was done with me. I had to get out as quickly as possible.

He looked at me and frowned, almost as though he wanted to tell me something. He never did, but his brow furrowed and he finally said, "You're just a piece of trash." He said, shaking his head. "You'll never be much of anything else."

I looked down, ashamed of myself. I quickly put on my shirt, feeling tears gather. He kept on in that same grouchy voice, murmuring something to himself that sounded like, _the things I do for this damn state._

 ***.*.*.***

 **.*.*.*.**

 _October, 1998_

Leo let us out some nights, giving us nice clothes for the night and a one hundred dollar bill each. Mel said it was because he wanted us to attract more business, because he'd only let us go to the shady parts of town. She said to always obey him, because he _would_ find out if we didn't. She was always so scared of him. I never understood...there were people out there to _help_.

This was one of those nights he let us out on the town, just me and Mel. We went to a pretty decent restaurant – decent to me, at least.

Mel scooped up some spaghetti onto her fork, rolling it around the prongs like she'd tried to teach me to do before. I always just stuck to macaroni or ziti, stuff you didn't have to roll like that. "What would be your dream job?" She asked out of the blue, politely putting her spaghetti in her mouth. It was like she was trained so well to be a perfect lady around Leo (even though what he made us do felt less than ladylike), that even when she wasn't with him, she was still acting like she was.

"My dream job?" I asked innocently.

She nodded, "You know, like a singer, or president, or-"

"Oh, I..." I shrugged softly, looking down at my food. Did I really seem educated enough to be president or something decent? Or was she making fun? "I...I like to entertain people." I said.

It was becoming a part of me, too, after almost two months. I liked the way the men's faces lit up when I'd do certain things, I liked the way I made them seem to feel. I liked to entertain them.

She frowned a little, "Like what would you do?" She asked. "Be in movies?"

"What's a movie?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

She gasped and let her fork fall on the plate, causing a racket that made a few people turn their heads toward us. She quickly gathered herself, "You've never seen a movie?" She asked, and I shook my head nervously. I was kind of worried about her sometimes, the way she was so jumpy. "Oh gosh, Regina. We're going to a movie theater tonight, okay?" She said, picking her fork back up and continuing to eat now.

She seemed so shocked, but I'd never even heard of any movies after I dropped out of school. "I grew up in a shack." I explained for the first time, never having told anyone that. It got her attention, and she quietly chewed but didn't pick anymore up. I suspected that meant she wanted to hear more. "My papa, he ran off. My mother was a horrible – is...was..." I wasn't sure how sick she was, if she'd even died or not yet. The horrible thing is, I haven't hardly thought of Mother since I'd thought she was my visitor – hoped she was saving me.

Mel must've caught my twisting mouth, or the twisting brows, and spoke up, "Which is it, honey? Is or was?"

I looked down. "I have no idea if she's alive or not." I said sadly, feeling tears come to the surface. After everything she did, I should not feel any sadness over whether I knew if she was dead or not. I shouldn't cry for her, or about her, or feel sad, even. Not after everything she's done to me. "She's horrible." I stated, trying to keep moving on with my point. "But not before he got her pregnant. I have a little sister – and I'm not even sure if she's actually my Papa's baby or not." I said. "Her name is Zelena, and she was going to starve to death if I didn't take this job. Leo and my mother made a deal, and he'd send her part of the money I made to help out with Zelena." I said, and just then my voice finally broke, and I couldn't hold my sob in anymore.

She got up and scooted her chair around to my side of the table, holding me in a side hug. I buried my face in my hands, I was embarrassed people were seeing me crying. "Shh..." She whispered. We comforted each other so much. She was my best friend.

I picked my head up a bit, wiping my tears and taking a shaky breath. "I'm okay now." I whispered, wiping the sauce from my face with my hand.

She handed me a napkin and gestured for me to wipe my mouth. "Please don't ever let him see you doing that."

"Crying?" I asked.

"Crying, or wiping your mouth without a napkin." She said seriously. To anyone else, it may have sounded like a joke. To me, I knew better. I knew that he'd given me a bruise on my hip for accidentally leaving my underwear on when he'd instructed me to come to his door without them. I knew he'd given Mel a black eye for being late to his place. I knew he'd hurt Ava, and hurt the baby once he found out she was pregnant. I should've been more scared of him than I really was.

I nodded and wiped my whole face with the napkin, and she quickly took me to the bathroom and re-did my makeup. "We're going to go to the movies now. Okay?" She said, finishing my lip gloss for me. I looked in the mirror and smiled shyly – I looked like someone my age would look. I didn't look like a woman right now, I didn't look like a kid. I looked somewhere in between there, but I actually felt pretty for once.

She smiled when she backed away, "There." She said, putting her lid on her lip gloss and sticking it back into her makeup bag.

I nodded a little, still admiring myself in the mirror. She chuckled when she caught me, then playfully pulled me out of the bathroom and to go pay the check. I still felt pretty.

 ***.*.*.***

 **.*.*.*.**

"Is Leo someone important?" I asked Mel on the way to the houses from the movies. We'd spent the night watching what she called a comedy, eating candy, and drinking sugary soda. It was the best night of my life.

She looked at me, her face was alarmed as she suddenly stopped and yanked me behind a dumpster. I tried to not shriek or squeal, but it startled me so badly that a noise _did_ come out. "You must _never_ say that in front of anyone, okay? Never say that." She said nervously, looking around. "You know he's always watching us."

"But at dinner, we were talking-"

"Because I know the people at the restaurant. I know they'll keep us safe." She said, so much warning in her voice. "Don't ever say anything else about him being someone important, okay? Don't even mention anything to me unless we're inside that restaurant." She said, pushing my hair away from my face.

I looked down, nodding sadly. I just wanted to know. "Sorry." I said sheepishly.

She kissed the top of my head, sighing a little. "You're so innocent, Regina. People can use that against you. Please never let that innocence harm you, _please_." She said, looking at me like I was the most important thing to her in the world.

I think that's how a mother looks at her child, or how she's supposed to. It made me feel loved and okay. It made me feel better. "Why do you care so much?" I asked.

She looked down and still rubbed my back a little. "Remember how I told you I was..." She looked down at her stomach and gestured a large, round bulge. I guessed she was talking about when she had told me she'd been pregnant before. I nodded, "You are almost the age of what my baby would be now." She explained.

My face fell, "How old were you?" I asked.

She looked around again, making sure no one was near. "I was sixteen. Leo was the father." She whispered quietly. "That was almost eighteen years ago. The baby was just a little younger than you." She whimpered and bit her lip. "I just...I feel like since I couldn't help that baby, I can help you." She said.

I let out a shaky breath, looking at her lovingly. It's no wonder she looked at me like I was important. She thought of me like her child. It made me swell with joy, and my tears came up again. "Thank you." I whispered. "You're a better mom to me than I've ever had."

 ***.*.*.***

 **.*.*.*.**

 _August 2016, current day._

I walk inside, trying to not breathe too deeply, in fear of catching something deathly. Dead mice, dead roaches...everything was dead in this shack but me. I walk around slowly, looking at everything. The picture of papa that I had hidden underneath my dresser...I tuck that in my purse and kept it close to my side.

I turn around to see myself in the mold and mildew covered mirror, having to take a shaky and deep breath to stop myself from getting choked up. "Thank you, Mel." I whisper, placing my hand on my stomach and giving a gentle rub. Without her, I never would've gotten the life I have now.

I look down at the swell of my stomach, smiling a little. Sometimes it's the only thing that reminded me to keep going in this world. Sometimes I just needed a push to get out of bed, and sometimes this little baby growing inside of me was the push that was needed.


End file.
